GCQ: I come, like the three of us, from a strong 3D background and have always been interested in new ways to tell stories. When the first 360 photography gear was released, we immediately tried to use it for storytelling and built our first rigs.

SK: With my background as a producer/CEO, I always focused on new ways of storytelling and formats. For example, I started one of the first internet TV Stations in Germany back in 2005 – just to be able to distribute art projects that I was interested in. In 2006, I founded Real Life Film International, focusing on stereoscopic 3D, to tell stories in more immersive ways than in flat 2D. Shortly after that in early 2008, I was part in a research consortium on immersive storytelling; we also shot the first 180° degree project with the first prototype of Fraunhofer HHI´s Omnicam. Over time, there were more projects in 360° for Dome Projections – and since 2014, we have produced and collaborated on over two hundred projects in 360°.

TH: Licensing content is a competitive and crowded business. I stumbled into stereoscopic 3D ‘by accident’ and 3D Content Hub became one of the leading distributors in this niche – which quickly disappeared. What 3D promised back then, VR actually delivers now. This became clear to me as soon as I saw the first few 360 clips on GearVR. VR will take a few more technology iterations to really take off – yet the first few headsets and experiences are already quite impressive.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment to date?

SK: My favorite moment was when Disney decided that they will not shoot in Los Angeles or with the largest German studio, but with us a relatively small and unknown company. We had been involved in the development of the camera system (which was awarded by the International 3D Society shortly afterwards) and Disney was convinced that we understood the creative aspects of working with it as well as the technical details.

GCQ: a) the premiere of my first feature film as executive producer in London, b) accepting the Lumiere Award in LA alongside Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Best 3D Commercial of the Year for the World of Warcraft commercial, and c) the recent Lumiere award for Temptation of St. Anthony VR for Arte Creative.

TH: a) figured out many ways to monetise 3D content and paid out about $3 million in license revenues to independent filmmakers, small production firms and freelancers b) built a network of hundreds of content creators and clients all over the world and finally c) wrote, crowdfunded, directed and produced my first documentary about the controversial technology Bitcoin and won 4 international awards for it.

Endless Opportunities for the battled 3D industry. I can’t wait to hear some commentary re: comparisons with HDMs like the Oculus. Here are two youtube videos that I have found. 1 and 2. And here is Microsoft’s official product website. I may post updates as the story unfolds.

I came across this article on Slate.com today. The author claims that a scene of Godard’s latest film, Goodbye to Language, his first in 3D, may contain the best ever 3D gimmick, which attracted spontaneous applause at Cannes earlier this year (where the film won the jury prize). “The scene starts with an image of the couple talking, shot the normal way—a pair of cameras pointed in the same direction. That’s how you make 3-D: With two overlapping movies filmed from slightly different angles, then projected separately (left-camera to left-eye, right-camera to right-eye) so they can be fused inside the viewer’s brain. But when the man and woman start to argue, Godard splits the image tracks: As she walks away from him one camera follows and the other stays behind. Now you see the woman with your left eye and the man with your right, as if they’d wandered into separate movies. The depth illusion breaks in half, replaced by a flickering double-image. It’s the inverse of the classic 3-D thrill, in which your eyes conspire to deceive you. This one does the opposite: It puts your eyes in opposition. They can’t agree, they’re misaligned, like the couple on the screen.”

Credit where credit is due. YouTube is not only the largest Video platform on the planet with the fastest and most reliable CDN. They are also true innovators in the space and were first to enable 3D videos (although it appears that this functionality is currently not available anymore). YouTube was also first to support 4k resolution, in fact many buyers of new 4k televisions probably have no other means to view UHD content other than YT at the moment. A recent article says that now 60fps has been introduced to YouTube as well. Read it here in detail. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them enable 360 degree functionality or some VR/Occulus support soon, too.